Cupid's Arrow
by flowerninja34
Summary: AU. Cupid is a prolific serial killer who kills couples, but this case has twists. Uptight FBI leader Reyna must handle Jason, a ghost from her past who mysteriously disappeared and now returns claiming special knowledge of the case; Octavian, a vengeful agent who insists a sinister plot underlies the case; and Nico, who seems determined to prove a handsome blond suspect innocent.


**Much thanks to 1oooW0rds for beta-ing this, check her stories out!**

 _"There are only the pursued, the pursuing, the busy, and the tired"_

 _-The Great Gatsby, Scott Fitzgerald_

 **the pursued**

The lush greenery granted Hyland Park a tranquil, picturesque picnic setting hidden from the hustle and bustle found in most of Houston. The only movement came from a pair wandering off a beaten path. Their light laughter filled the morning air, along with the sweet chorus of birds. They were an odd couple; her with her elegant silky dark hair and him with his ruffled blond, her pale arm grazing against his tan one, her cautious emerald eyes meeting his carefree blue set. Nevertheless, both shared a mischievous twinkle that gave away their thirst for adventure.

"What surprise would you have to show me at this time?" The dark-haired woman laughed. It was a short yet genuine chuckle that one didn't hear often from her. She appeared to be completely at ease, but her sharp eyes and stiff body language gave away her reservations.

"I don't believe you've ever done archery before," responded the blond man with a natural easy smile. He spread his tanned arms out, embracing the cool morning air. "It's an amazing sport."

"If you could even call it a sport," the woman casually retorted. The man gave a nervous chuckle different from his normally easy one. The woman's green eyes darted towards the woods they were closely approaching. Years of practice with the wrong sort had taught her to trust her instincts. There was danger in the air. She could feel unwanted eyes on them. She touched the man's shoulder briefly, but she could feel him stiffen.

"Listen, Lou," the man said abruptly, his tone dropping. He swallowed as he struggled to meet her intense gaze. "There's something I have to tell you. I'm-"

"I know." Lou cut him off. She averted his gaze for a millisecond, but she managed to capture his tentative blue eyes in her intense green ones. She gave him a reassuring smile, flashing her brilliant white teeth. "We're not dating, anyway," she declared with more conviction than she had felt.

"Right." The man looked relieved, as if a hundred pounds had been lifted off his muscled shoulders. They walked in silence as if an invisible barrier had formed between them. They didn't dare to brush against each other anymore. Words poured out of the man's mouth to fill the awkward air. "Anyway, my friend is meeting us here and he has the best aim I've ever seen."

"Is this friend good-looking?" Lou suggested coyly.

The man looked taken aback. "What? Well, I guess, his eyes are kind of striking in a dark way-" he stopped midsentence, realizing he was blushing and Lou was trying hard not to smile.

"I'm up for playing wingman," Lou joked lightly. She glanced at the man's worn orange T-shirt in distaste. It fit his athletic build nicely, but it hardly gave him props for style. "You picked the day of your date to show alma mater pride?"

"It's not a date," he insisted in a loud whisper as his ears turned red. "If it was, why would I take you? Awkwardness on top of awkwardness." The man chuckled and ruffled his hair, acting like his usual self. Lou momentarily relaxed, but her ears perked as they heard a rustle in the trees. She felt her fingers tighten reflexively around the small hidden knife in her pocket for a moment. "I haven't been completely straight with you, either," she confessed.

The man looked surprised. "What? You're lesbian?"

"No. Something else. Something bad." The woman felt a familiar tingling on her arm. Her slender fingers subconsciously crept under her sleeve and trailed over a faded black tattoo on her shoulder, initially hidden by the fabric of her shirt.

The brilliant blue eyes followed her fingers. "Your tattoo has a very interesting design." He squinted. It was too faded to make out the elaborate design, but he could see two faint black rays jutted upward to form a sharp angle. Was that a sword he saw?

Lou quickly dropped the fabric back over the tattoo. "It's one of a kind," she responded grimly. She saw a flash of color in the trees. She blinked, but it was gone the next moment. "Are you sure this is safe?"

The man looked at his friend strangely, puzzled at her seemingly out-of-the-blue paranoia. "We're perfectly fine. Besides, my friend works multiple jobs during the day, and this is his only time to show us." He tugged at her cold hand awkwardly. It was odd to think they were completely platonic now. Relieving, but odd.

"All right," the woman relented. She plastered a smile and tore her eyes away from the woods and towards the rocky trail. She still couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. She felt the familiar rapid pulse of her heart. She'd had that feeling ever since she'd left, though, so it was probably unwarranted paranoia.

 **the pursuing**

Murder.

The six-letter word was something Reyna tossed around casually on a daily basis for work, to the point where she didn't pay it any mind. Not that the law-abiding FBI agent had ever loosened her rigid stance against the act. The leader's piercing brown eyes surveyed the familiar scene at the park with solemn determination. Stoic photographers leaned close over the yellow tape, aiming their flashing cameras at the body. A small ragtag crowd had gathered nearby to gossip and speculate amongst themselves.

"Had that nice grad school girl really been murdered-no, it couldn't possibly be, she was such an innocent, patient coffee shop regular." A middle-age woman whispered to her neighbor, covering her mouth with her hand. "A bit too reserved and thoughtful perhaps, but surely those aren't grounds for murder these days."

"Of course, if what they say about the killer was really true, then he really was insane and no one's safe." A young jogger remarked in a low tone to his partner, nervously messing around with his wristband as Reyna stepped by.

"FBI coming through," Reyna commanded impassively as she trudged through the parting crowd and wary police, opening and flashing her badge. She held her head high as she exhaled a weary sigh. Shame the normally peaceful park was filled with police radio chatter and garrulous spectators and reporters. All this commotion because one person selfishly pursued a life for their own gain or vendetta. Not that Reyna was one to preach morality. She was just there to see justice served. She ducked under the yellow tape, joining her team and a park ranger surrounding the body. Their faces looked grave but determined.

"Sorry I'm late," Reyna announced, dusting invisible dirt off her vest. The dedicated leader silently cursed herself for being late, even by mere seconds. She gave a perfunctory glance at her team. Even Nico, who was never an early morning bird, looked alert as he examined the body. Reyna extended her hand professionally to the park ranger, a tall tanned brooding man standing off to the side. "FBI Supervisory Special Agent Ramirez-Arellano. I lead this team."

The park ranger returned her handshake half-heartedly. "Ranger Nate. Never dealt with murder before, 'fraid I won't be much help to you folks." He stifled a yawn and averted his eyes from the bloody body, crossing his bulky arms across his body.

"Your information will be valuable," Reyna assured. She leaned closer to the body on the ground. The victim was a sleek woman who looked like a grad student, or at least around the age of one. Sharp features accentuated her pale face that was covered by cascading silky dark hair. She radiated beauty, but the blood-drenched arrow through her heart stole the spotlight. She looked fairly inconspicuous, but upon closer inspection her body showed signs of more sinister tales. Multiple scars were scattered across her neck and arms, too faded to be recent. A single bloodred rose laid in her open palm

Nico's dark eyes took in the arrow and rose slowly dripping crimson blood. His purely analytical face betrayed no repulsion. His eyes trailed upwards from the wound at the heart to the scars and fixated on the heavily bloody wound on her shoulder. Nico had an uncanny knack for examining dead bodies that none of the other agents possessed. Finally he seemed to break out of his concentration to speak. "Victim's name is Lou Ellen." He handed a battered brown wallet to Reyna, revealing a plain ID. "Coroner places her death around 6 AM. Judging from the position of the arrow, she was shot from that direction." He gestured towards the woods.

Hazel followed his gesture to the trees. "So our killer climbed up a tree, took their shot, and fled back into the woods," she guessed. The clustered trees were thin and ordinary, but tall and filled with many branches. Reyna noticed a hidden gravel trail leading into it; probably where the killer made their getaway.

"Why can't the local police take this case?" Reyna interjected, glancing at the police officers in the distance. They looked restless on guard duty, constantly sneaking unhappy glances at the FBI agents.

Nico ran his hand through his dark hair. "Because I think the killer is Cupid," he uttered softly, watching the other agents react to the alias. Hazel's eyebrows shot up. Reyna's thin mouth twisted slightly. Frank shifted uneasily. Nico rushed quickly to the defensive. "The red rose is Cupid's signature. And the Director agrees with me."

"Lupa?" Reyna's dark eyebrow arched questioningly. She normally didn't argue with the Director's judgment, but there would be time for skepticism later. "Alright. If we retrace this archer's path, as Levesque suggested, he has a good view up one of those tall trees and shoots Lou."

Nico nodded slowly, his brow furrowed in thought. "That makes sense. That's what Cupid normally does-"

"No," Hazel spoke up. Reyna glanced at her curiously. Normally she sided with Nico, but Hazel's eyes lit up as she pointed to the gravel next to the body. "Look. The gravel is disturbed. There's too much of it astray to be an accident. The kill was on foot," she announced with an odd sort of flourish.

"So it's not Cupid?" Agent Zhang postulated, his brow furrowed. Reyna had to turn to look at him. He stood awkwardly a few paces back from the body, fidgeting with his hands. His broad shoulders were hunched and positioned away. His brown eyes focused on the tip of the arrow, not the bloody wound itself. "His kills are mostly in the East, anyway. Never in Texas."

"No. The perfect shot right through the heart, arrow drenched in blood, the red rose...it all points to Cupid," Nico said grimly. "He was probably forced to come up close and stab her with the arrow." Reyna almost thought he wanted it to be Cupid. Although he was a "popular" murderer who had garnered a lot of infamy, the agent was still skeptical.

"That would explain why her shoulder looks as if it had been stabbed several times," Reyna admitted grudgingly. Her left shoulder was a disturbing massive pool of blood, completely obscuring the skin beneath. "But you're missing a major point, Di Angelo. Cupid kills couples, not lone joggers. Couldn't it be those female archer assassins-the Hunters, aren't they called? They've done kills in the area before."

The agent's pale fists clenched. Reyna questioned whether it was his stubbornness on the killer being Cupid or a personal grudge against the Hunters. Nico's chin jutted out as he strained to respond evenly. "The Hunters never kill women, except for defectors. And this simply isn't their style." He turned to the park ranger, whose presence Reyna had nearly forgotten. "Were there any witnesses?"

The park ranger shifted uneasily, clearly unwelcome to the agents. "None that we know of," he responded gruffly in a thick Texan accent. "Folks don't usually come round to the park that early. I passed this young lady only once when she was coming in. Saw her with another fellow-blond, orange shirt."

"Blond, orange shirt," Hazel muttered as she instantaneously produced a notepad and pen, scribbling it down. The pen stopped abruptly, poised to keep writing. "Any other details? Approximate age, eyes, identifying marks, anything?"

The ranger shrugged half-heartedly. "Think they were blue. Looked like the athletic type. Tan, too." Hazel continued to furiously scribble away verbatim while Reyna's mind began to spin. A wave of nostalgia washed over her. A fuzzy image began to piece together of a handsome blond colleague with familiar electric blue eyes. Jason, her brain whispered.

Outwardly, Reyna nodded attentively, betraying no flicker of emotion. She struggled to find a noticeable trait of her former colleague that would set him apart from other attractive blondes. All she could remember was playfully running her hand through his hair. He would bat her arm away, insisting it ruined the style although his infectious grin would contradict his words. "Did his hair happen to be very tidy and close-cropped?" Reyna casually inquired.

Ranger Nate gave a small shake of his head. "No. Think it was shaggy, like-like a surfer," he announced with finality. The image slowly crumbled. Reyna didn't know whether to feel disappointed or relieved, but she pushed that matter aside. Her penetrating dark eyes roamed the park ranger's face for signs of deception before giving a slight nod. His eyelids looked heavy and his mouth looked as if it were concealing a yawn, but he maintained a natural level of eye contact.

"You're getting all this down, Levesque?" Reyna checked, confirmed by Hazel's eager nod. "Good. Now, Ranger Nate, did you happen to hear any part of their conversation?"

"I think they were talking 'bout medical jargon." Nate shuffled his feet. Under Reyna's disapproving gaze, he tried to stand more upright. "Maybe doctors. But they looked a bit young," he added helpfully.

"Anything more specific?" Reyna prompted. Her eyes fixated closely on his face and her mouth had thinned into a firm line. She had cut him some slack because he was tired from an early shift and likely overwhelmed by the commotion. Nevertheless, she would expect one to be more helpful for a murder investigation.

His bushy brow furrowed as he appeared to be deep in thought. Frank unexpectedly cut in, pointing towards the trail at a small wooden post. "Is that a sign for an archery range?" Reyna squinted, barely making out the engraved words from a distance. He was right. Of course Frank could sniff out arrows a mile away.

Ranger Nate suddenly rose his deep voice, startling the agents. "Archery! I heard somethin' related to that. Bow tension or something along those lines. Things most folks don't have a clue about."

Reyna turned around sharply on her heel to glare at the self-satisfied ranger. "Why didn't you mention this before?" she questioned with annoyance. Hazel's pen scribbled faster than ever, the agent's dark cheeks practically flushing from excitement. They would have time for speculation later. At the moment, they needed to obtain all relevant information from the close-mouthed park ranger.

"Lots of folks swing by for archery, I didn't think much of it then," Nate retorted defensively, crossing his arms over his puffed chest. Inwardly, Reyna rolled her eyes. She bit back any potentially rude slips about the ranger's questionable perception skills. "But now that I think of it, the guy looked pretty suspicious. Charming. Those guys are always trouble." The park ranger shook his head gravely. He tapped his shoes and glanced at his watch impatiently. "We done here? The police are around if ya have more questions."

"Just one more for you. Where were you at the time of the murder?" Reyna studied his face closer than ever. He flushed slightly, which was normal under scrutiny, but he managed to stand his ground.

"Calling off some no-good loiterers. Ranger Marcus saw it too." Nate pointed at a short brown-haired man decked in the same park ranger uniform, who was talking to some police. He turned back to the eager agents, raising an eyebrow. "Unless you need more from me right now..." Nico shook his head. His dark eyes had lit up. Reyna gave the ranger her thanks. Nate grunted something inaudible in reply before stumbling off in the grass.

Frank watched the man's back warily. He narrowed his eyes and turned back to the group. "Do we trust him?" he asked dubiously. Reyna didn't blame him.

"We don't know if his hurry is in his nature or something darker," Reyna admitted grimly. "Di Angelo, are you done examining the body? We still need to do the autopsy, you know," she remarked watching his intense scrutiny. His gloved hands skirted around the bloody shoulder wound.

He pushed his black hair off his forehead as he finally stood up and peeled his eyes away from the body. "You know my theory."

"Yes, yes, Cupid." Reyna waved her hand dismissively. "We will look into that. I think the blond friend is a likelier suspect."

"I have no problem with finding him," Nico agreed. "He may be an accomplice. Talking about arrows before getting shot by one doesn't sound coincidental. But this matches Cupid's profile perfectly; you can't deny that."

Hazel nodded vigorously. Even Frank looked on the verge of being convinced. The last thing Reyna needed was another Octavian who turned her team against her. Thankfully Frank spoke up as he cautiously stepped closer to the body. "Uh…I know a little about Cupid. He's got amazing aim. Most couples don't know what hit them. It doesn't make sense that he had to come up and stab her…" He frowned as he thought and fiddled with his fingers. "Maybe he had a bigger motive for the murder? So he enlisted the boyfriend as an accomplice to lure her."

"Good idea Frank," Hazel chimed in, smiling supportively at Frank. He blushed and returned the smile, locking eyes for a moment. They subtly inched closer, their arms grazing against each other's. Reyna felt a spark of déjà vu as her eyes darted between the two agents, who seemed to be silently communicating with each other. Hazel finally averted her eyes and glanced down at her notes. "The blond guy is very suspicious. Presumably, he ran away or went with Cupid. We need to question Lou's family and friends to find someone who matches this description. I wrote it all down-shaggy blond hair, orange shirt, blue eyes, athletic, tan, "a bit young", charming, possibly a medical student of some sort." She looked up and settled her warm gaze on Reyna. "Why did you ask if he had tidy hair?" she asked curiously.

The normally poised agent visibly stiffened as the memories came back to her. Talk of Cupid didn't help either. Although the moment had passed, the reflection of Hazel and Frank's smile unwavered in her eyes. Slowly, the dewy green grass melted into soft sand, the stuffy Texas air cooled to sea breeze, the chatter of the crowd and police turned to rhythmic waves crashing down on the sand, and her colleagues faded out.

" _Jason," the younger Reyna called. Her long dark hair was unusually tousled despite her hasty attempts to keep it in a ponytail. The sea breeze only made it worse. It would have been cool if her hair wasn't soaking wet, splattering water drops on the sand. Apparently Jason didn't think so, though, as the blond agent turned around and smiled at her from the edge of the beach. "Just took a shower?" he guessed._

 _Reyna shook her wet hair out of her face in annoyance. She didn't need to respond; Jason knew he was right. "I swear I'm going to cut my hair," she snapped, attempting to pull apart tangled knots in vain._

" _Don't. It looks good on you." Reyna raised her dark eyebrows in surprise. Jason's jaw twitched nervously but he held his electric gaze on her face. Was he complimenting her appearance? She was used to people complimenting her work ethic, intelligence, intensity, field work, and her apparently decent skill in preventing bloodthirsty dogs from tearing people apart. Rarely ever her looks. The corners of her mouth turned and gave way to a small smile._

" _I made you smile!" yelped Jason triumphantly. He elbowed her playfully with a small smirk. "One smile yesterday and the day before and one today already. Maybe you'll get two in today."_

" _Oh, shut it, Grace." Reyna turned away from him and focused her gaze on the rippling sea, but her smile didn't fade. "We're supposed to be investigating a missing body and you're flirting," she reprimanded jokingly._

Reyna snapped out of her little daydream before her mind wandered further down memory lane. The back of her hand brushed against her forehead. "No particular reason. I just want all the details," she replied nonchalantly.

Hazel shot her a suspicious look but knew better than to say anything. Thankfully, Nico broke in the awkward silence. "Maybe Cupid did shoot from the tree, then. That's what he usually does. There's a million reasons for the gravel movement that don't involve him."

Frank, a seasoned archer, glanced at the forest and shook his head. "That's unlikely. Even from the nearest trees, it'd be hard to get a sure shot at moving targets-even for Cupid," he rebuked in a somewhat protective tone.

"Maybe it's a copycat," Hazel pitched in eagerly, turning her back to Reyna to join the debate. "Cupid is famous enough to garner some overzealous psycho fans."

"Stop," Reyna broke in before a retort came out of Nico's open mouth. All three agents faced her. Her mind was spinning with plans of action as always, but an unwanted voice from the past still lingered. She could almost hear the cool Houston breeze whispering sadly, _Jason Grace_.

Her fingers twitched. She forced a confident small smile to her agents. No point in dwelling in the past when the present had to be dealt with.

 **Author's Note: As you can tell, not all of the quote from the beginning was used; the rest of the quote will be used in the next chapter. Not a lot of Jeyna action here, but I promise, you'll see more of Jason in coming chapters! Thanks for reading! Please review, favorite, follow and all that jazz : )**

 **Next chapter: Reyna and Octavian face off, the ghost from the past**


End file.
